Hebrew Theological College


The Hebrew Theological College, known colloquially as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois, which also functions as a private university on campus. The school is a division of Touro College and University System and hosts separate programs for both men and women. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions. It was founded in 1922 as a Modern Orthodox Jewish institution of higher education in America and currently caters to students from Modern Orthodox, Yeshivish and Chasidish backgrounds.
Hebrew Theological College's primary purposes are to prepare students for the assumption of formal roles as educators, as well as to train eligible students to meet the requirements and demands of rabbinic ordination. As its secondary purpose, Hebrew Theological College endeavors to provide its students with broad cultural perspectives and a strong background in the Liberal Arts and Sciences to facilitate a creative synthesis of general and Jewish knowledge. In so doing, the College also provides a foundation for the pursuit of advanced professional training.

Organization

The Yeshiva consists of a Bet Midrash, a Rabbinical School, the Bellows Kollel, the Blitstein Institute for Women, and the Fasman Yeshiva High School. The College is composed of the Bressler School of Advanced Hebrew Studies and the Kanter School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. All students complete a Bachelor of Arts in Judaic Studies through the Bressler School, with the option of a second major through the Kanter School.
The men's program offers a B.A. with a focus in Judaic studies and specifically Talmud, with second majors offered in Business, Accounting, and Psychology. The woman's program, located on a separate campus at the Blistein Institute for Women, offers Judaic Studies majors in Bible, Hebrew Language, and Jewish History, with dual majors available in Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Education, English, Health Sciences and Psychology.
The Yeshiva also has a men's Kollel with some of the kollel members studying for ordination in a Smichah Program led by Rabbi Chaim Twerski.
The College is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

History

The school was founded in the city of Chicago in 1921 by Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Rubinstein and Rabbi Saul Silber. The school's original location was at 3448 West Douglas Boulevard in the North Lawndale community. Hebrew Theological College moved to Skokie in 1958.
Throughout the history of Hebrew Theological College, its leadership has been shared by its rosh yeshiva and its Chief Executive Officer, formerly known as the President, later the Chancellor and now the CEO.

Founders

Rabbi Rubinstein was an alumnus of Volozhin Yeshiva who arrived in America in 1917. Rabbi Silber was a pulpit Rabbi in Chicago and served as president of the school for its first twenty-five years.

Roshei yeshiva

Rabbi Nissan Yablonsky, an alumnus of Slabodka, served as the first rosh yeshiva for the first few years. He was followed by Rabbi Chaim Korb. Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman served as rosh yeshiva from 1947 to 1966.
Rabbi Simon Kramer was appointed President. Under his stewardship, Hebrew Theological College reached its greatest enrollment, with approximately 300 students in the high school and 200 in the college. In 1966 Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik became rosh yeshiva. In 1974, he was forced out of his position, and thus founded Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago. In 1985, Rabbi Shlomo Morgenstern, an alumnus of Yeshivas Chevron, became rosh yeshiva. Rabbi Morgenstern served as rosh yeshiva for 22 years. On January 27, 2008, Rabbi Avraham Friedman was named rosh yeshiva.
Other Roshei Yeshiva include:
Rabbi Yosef Babad
Rabbi Nachman Barr
Rabbi Avrahom Yitzchok Cordon
Rabbi Eliezer Y. Gottleib
Rabbi Yaakov Greenberg
Rabbi Moshe Hershler
Rabbi Dovid Kaganoff
Rabbi Hirsch Isenberg
Rabbi Herzel Kaplan
Rabbi Mendel Kaplan
Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth
Rabbi Yosef Leff
Rabbi Yechezkel Lichtman
Rabbi Dovid Lipshitz
Rabbi Chaim Mednick
Rabbi Elazar Muskin
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Regensberg
Rabbi Mordechai Rogow
Rabbi Chaim Zvi Rubenstein
Rabbi Nachum Sachs
Rabbi Zelig Starr
Rabbi Zvi Teller
Rabbi Moshe Wernick
A list of the Roshei yeshiva can be found at http://www.htc.edu/component/k2/item/228.html.

Presidents / Chancellors

The founding president was Rabbi Saul Silber. He was followed by Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman and Rabbi Simon G. Kramer, and then by Rabbi Irving J. Rosenbaum.
Rabbi Dr. Don Well was president from 1981-1989, Rabbi Dr. Jerold Isenberg from 1989-2013. Rabbi Shmuel Leib Schuman became interim CEO in 2013 and as of 2017 is CEO.

Faculty

The current faculty include:
Past members of the faculty include Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who from 1958 until 1967 was the chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy.
Other past members of faculty include HaRav Yaakov Perlow, Novominsker Rebbe, Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in America.

Notable alumni